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Sunday, November 7, 2010

It is interesting to know how animals and insects live and behave, as they co-exist with us humans. To capture it on video with a story blows me away. Every year, the Philippines has hosted some of the world’s greatest animal migrations, including that of thousands of humpback whales, sea turtles, whale sharks, and wild birds. One of the most compelling features on animals and insects is migration.

Jose Ma. Lorenzo Tan, CEO/Vice Chairman, Board of Trustees, WWF-Philippines, says that in the global theater of animal migrations, our archipelago is a major destination. The Philippines plays a key role in ensuring the survival of some of the world’s most vulnerable and endangered species.

With the onset of winter, humpback whales come to the Babuyan Islands from as far away as Alaska’s Bering Sea, in order to calve. Migratory birds from Japan, Korea, and China come to feed at the Candaba Marsh in Pampanga, Olango Island in Cebu, the Agusan Marsh in eastern Mindanao and the dozens of other Philippine “refueling stations” along the East Asian Flyway.

National Geographic Channel just launched the Great Migrations during the press screening on October 17, 2010 held at Cinema 5, Greenbelt 3 in Makati City. I was fortunate to have been invited to this event to witness the first episode entitled, "Born to Move" and I was mesmerized at the beauty of nature and how animals and insects behave (both good and bad) in their own habitat. Just before the preview, Tan gave a talk on animal movements across the Philippines.

Great Migrations
The most ambitious documentary in the 122-year history of the National Geographic Society, Great Migrations is a 7-part global television program that features the difficult journeys millions of animals embark on to ensure the survival of their species.

“Great Migrations is a high-definition chronicle of epic, inspiring, and often harrowing journeys of animals that move as millions and survive as one. It tells of the unforgiving odds that they face and shows what it means to move as though your life depends on it,” said Jude Turcuato, Fox International Channels territory director

Shot from land and air, in trees and cliff-blinds, on ice floes and underwater, in some of the most unforgiving places on the planet, Great Migrations took three years to produce using some of the most advanced surveillance and filming technology to reveal new scientific findings, including bull elephants scouting migration routes and transferring knowledge to matriarchs and re-discovery of epic knob migration in Sudan thought destroyed by civil war.

National Geographic Channel's Great Migrations Trailer

Great Migrations(Sundays, 9 p.m.)features Born to Move, Need to Breed, Race to Survive, and Feast or Famine– four one-hour episodes that focus on incredible animal journeys, the reasons for their great migrations, and the overwhelming challenges they face.

Born to Move(premieres November 7, 9:00 pm) tells the story of four of the most remarkable animal movements: Sperm Whales traveling over a million miles in a lifetime; Red Crabs overcoming horrific obstacles on a daily basis; Monarch Butterflies taking four generations to cross a continent; and Wildebeest, rising above the gaping jaws of ravenous crocodiles every year.

Need to Breed(premieres November 14, 9:00 pm) takes viewers from the rocky beaches of the Falkland Islands to the dense forests of Costa Rica and Australia to the desolate savannah of southern Sudan to reveal why animals risk everything on almost impossible voyages – to ensure the survival of their species.

In Race to Survive(premieres November 21, 9:00 pm) animals such as walruses, whale sharks, zebras, orangutans, pronghorns, and planktons are in a move or die situation. In a race against changing seasons and climate, they are forced to travel to breed, feed, and stay alive.Feast or Famine (premieres November 28, 9:00 pm) shows how trillions of creatures, from microscopic plankton to rare desert elephants; from predatory bald eagles to luminous jellyfish; from ravenous Great White Sharks to lightning quick peregrine falcons, are constantly moving to satisfy their hunger.

Great Migrations also features episodes on the science behind animal migrations (Great Migrations: Science of Migrations, December 5, 9:00 pm), a montage of behind-the-scenes videos of dramatic or comical moments (Great Migrations: Behind-the-Scenes, December 12, 9:00 pm), and a narration-free music video that combines the best Great Migrations footages with an original orchestral music (Great Migrations: Rhythm of Life, December 19, 9:00 pm).

Marathon episodes of Great Migrations will air on December 26, 11:00 am to 6:00 pm.

National Geographic Channel's Great Migrations TV Spot

Thank you National Geographic Channel!

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About National Geographic Channels InternationalNational Geographic Channels International (NGCI) invites viewers to live curious through its smart, innovative programming that questions what we know, how we view the world and what drives us forward. A business enterprise owned by National Geographic Television (NGT) and FOX Entertainment Group, NGCI contributes to the National Geographic Society's commitment to exploration, conservation and education through its six channels: National Geographic Channel, National Geographic Channel HD, Nat Geo Wild, Nat Geo Wild HD, Nat Geo Adventure and Nat Geo Music.

Globally, National Geographic Channel (including NGC U.S., which is a joint venture of NGT and Fox Cable Networks Group) is available in more than 320 million homes in 166 countries and 34 languages.

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Art Bloggerwas born in Manila; currently living in Parañaque City, Philippines. He is a teacher, writer, blogger, editor, proofreader, translator, calligrapher, abstract artist. A proud graduate of De La Salle University (Manila).